Are Feds Losing the Cybersecurity Fight?May 27, 2015
U.S. government agencies have invested time, effort and significant funding in the last several years to meet the challenges of cybersecurity threats, but the payoff has been disappointing, according to a report from the ISC2 Foundation. As part of its seventh Global Information Security Workforce Study, the foundation included a section that involved a survey of 1,800 federal IT professionals.

Charter, TWC Merger Could Be Fine With FedsMay 26, 2015
Charter Communications on Tuesday announced a deal to acquire and merge with Time Warner Cable, and also reaffirmed its commitment to buy Bright House Networks. The $56 billion cash-and-stock acquisition, if regulators give it a nod, will result in a merger of Charter Communications and Time Warner Cable under a new parent company called "New Charter." The deal values TWC at $78.7 billion.

Spy Agencies Planned to Corrupt Google PlayMay 22, 2015
The United States and its leading Western allies, known as the "Five Eyes," reportedly planned to hack into smartphones through their links to Google and Samsung's app stores.
They wanted to infect apps with spyware and find ways to send misinformation to targets, according to documents released to the media by National Security Agency whistle-blower Edward Snowden.

Americans Hate Surveillance, Love Privacy: ReportMay 21, 2015
Americans are deeply troubled by surveillance, data collection and the security of their data that's held by government agencies and private companies. The combined results of two Pew surveys suggest that the vast majority consider it important to be in control of their information. Eighty-eight percent of the respondents didn't want someone to watch or listen to them without their permission.

Russia Aims to Build US-Free Mobile OSMay 20, 2015
Russia wants to develop alternatives to proprietary or partly closed mobile operating systems by using open source tools as a foundation, Minister of Telecom and Mass Communications Nikolay Nikiforov said last week. "Success would make a fairly significant impact on the go-to market plans of numerous IT vendors," said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

DoJ Calls On Private Sector to Strengthen CybersecurityMay 20, 2015
The Justice Department is stepping up its program to engage more actively with the private sector on dealing with cybercrime and cybersecurity breaches. "We in government know that we cannot go it alone in fighting cybercrime. We need a strong partnership with you in the private sector," Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said at a recent Cybersecurity Industry Roundtable.

Researcher's Airplane-Hacking Claims May Not FlyMay 19, 2015
A security researcher who last month bragged he'd hacked into a passenger jet's internal computer systems while in flight appears to have performed the act more than a dozen times over a three-year period. Chris Roberts, founder and CTO of One World Labs, told FBI investigators earlier this year that he'd hacked into the flight systems of commercial passenger aircraft from 15-20 times.

Feds Value - but Don't Always Use - Big Data Tools for CybersecurityMay 13, 2015
U.S. government agencies can significantly improve their ability to deal with cybersecurity problems by utilizing big data analytics. However, agencies are finding it difficult to fully benefit from these advanced analytical tools for a variety of reasons -- including dealing with the sheer volume of data. Cyberthreats hide in plain sight, suggests a recent report from MeriTalk.

The US Government vs. E-CommerceMay 12, 2015
"The chief business of the American people is business," President Calvin Coolidge said. Although that has become the country's rubric, lawmakers in the United States aren't inclined to give business free rein. The Justice Department last month trumpeted its first online marketing prosecution: the leveling of felony charges against David Topkins, a former executive of Art.com, for alleged price-fixing.

FAA's Next-Generation Air Transportation System FaltersMay 11, 2015
The United States Federal Aviation Administration last week came under fire once again for problems with the implementation of its troubled Next Generation Air Transportation System. The NextGen program to overhaul the U.S. national air traffic control system, estimated to cost $29 billion between 2013 and 2030, long has been the target of congressional wrath.

Federal Appeals Court Rules NSA's Phone Data-Vacuuming IllegalMay 7, 2015
A U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled, in essence, that the NSA's collection of metadata concerning Americans' communications is illegal. The court vacated U.S. District Judge William Pauley's December 2013 ruling in ACLU v. Clapper, and remanded the case to the lower court. "The Second Circuit found the government incorrect in many of its arguments," said ACLU Staff Attorney Patrick Toomey.

Supreme Court to Hear 'Non-Injury' Privacy Class ActionMay 6, 2015
The U.S. Supreme Court last month granted a request from Spokeo, a data aggregator, to consider whether the legal basis litigants must meet to file a claim in federal court should be broadly or narrowly defined. In the case, Spokeo, Inc. v. Thomas Robins, Thomas Robins is a resident of Virginia acting individually and as representative of a class.

Feds Get Forward-Looking IT Procurement AdviceMay 1, 2015
Federal agencies need to change course in handling IT spending quickly, particularly in reversing the inertia behind longstanding conflicts between CIOs and CFOs over the procurement of IT resources, according to IDC Government Insights Research Director Shawn McCarthy. Government IT managers need to focus on the advantages of newer technologies, suggested Gartner Research Director Rick Howard.

Other Shoe Drops in White House Security BreachApril 28, 2015
Last year's breach of unclassified White House computer systems reportedly was far more intrusive than initially thought and included the theft of some presidential correspondence.
No classified systems were compromised, including the servers that control message traffic from the president's BlackBerry. However, much of the information the unclassified servers handle is considered sensitive.

House Passes Cybersecurity Bills Despite Privacy FearsApril 24, 2015
Two cybersecurity bills approved this week by the U.S. House of Representatives pose a threat to citizens' privacy, according to opponents of the measures. Both bills aim to improve sharing of cybersecurity information between businesses and government agencies. "'Information sharing' is a misnomer," said Gabriel Rottman, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union.

Comcast, Time Warner Cable Deal UndoneApril 23, 2015
Comcast has decided to abandon its plan to merge with Time Warner Cable, according to multiple press reports. The company is expected to make a formal announcement on Friday. About a week after reports emerged indicating the DoJ was leaning against Comcast's $45.2 billion dollar bid to absorb TWC, reports surfaced that the FCC was leaning in the same direction.

Reports: Federal IT Managers Should Look Forward, Not BackApril 22, 2015
The dynamic world of information technology calls for a future-oriented approach to IT management. However, government agencies too often may be looking backward rather than forward with respect to how they operate IT systems, especially when it comes to investing huge sums of taxpayer money into those resources. Two recent assessments of government IT make the point.

Breach Outbreaks Fuel Encryption AdoptionApril 22, 2015
As data breaches make headlines around the world, more companies are turning to encryption to protect their information jewels. That is one of the findings in a study released Monday, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by Thales E-Security.
"Mega breaches and cyber attacks have increased companies' urgency to improve their security posture," says the report.

Government Surveillance: What to Do, What to Do?April 21, 2015
The CIA has been trying to hack into iOS for years. British and American agencies reportedly have collaborated to create a map of the Internet and Web users. The United States National Security Agency has, together with the UK's GCHQ, reportedly stolen SIM card encryption keys from Gemalto. The FBI is frothing at the mouth over Google's and Apple's encryption of their mobile OSes.

US Navy Gears Up for CyberwarfareApril 20, 2015
The U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, part of the U.S. 10th Fleet, reportedly is developing a strategy for modernizing its cyberoperations and transforming the Navy's network into a cyberwarfare platform. The need for a stronger cybersecurity approach has been underlined by the penetration of U.S. government networks by hackers, the most recent of which was an attack on unsecured White House computers.

EC Officially Tosses Google Into Hot SoupApril 15, 2015
The European Commission on Wednesday began official antitrust proceedings against Google, alleging abuses of its dominance in Internet search. The EC further opened a probe into Google's Android mobile operating system. In a Statement of Objections sent to Google, the EC notes that its preliminary investigation indicates the company has infringed European antitrust rules by stifling competition and harming consumers.

Industry Groups Lead Net Neutrality Lawsuit ParadeApril 15, 2015
Several wireless and cable industry groups on Tuesday filed lawsuits challenging the FCC's new open Internet rules. The lawsuits seek to nullify the new rules on the grounds that the FCC exceeded its authority in making them -- most notably by redefining broadband service so it can be regulated like a utility. The trade groups oppose the way the FCC seeks to enforce Net neutrality.

DEA Sued for Unconstitutional Phone SurveillanceApril 10, 2015
The Electronic Frontier Foundation this week filed a complaint against the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for secretly collecting data on all telephone calls to as many as 116 countries, possibly going back to the 1990s. The suit was filed on behalf of Human Rights Watch. Many of the calls were made to countries known to be heavily involved in the drug trade.

FTC Upgrades IT to Protect Consumer Privacy, Data SecurityApril 8, 2015
The FTC, which is at the forefront of regulating the impact of information technology on consumers, is bolstering its technical resource capabilities through a new Office of Technology Research and Investigation. The FTC is concerned about the failure of commercial entities to make adequate disclosures or to properly address data breaches and privacy issues.